


Moze and Iron Bear

by DigiConjurer



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Human, Computer Viruses, Dress-up, F/F, I'm not sure what just happened, Implied Sexual Content, MILFs, Mecha, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Revenge, Robot/Human Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2020-10-30 04:03:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 32
Words: 13,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20808218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DigiConjurer/pseuds/DigiConjurer
Summary: As happenings go, having your mech turn into a girl is bad enough. But when she's convinced that you're in relationship? That's a whole different story.Or in other words, a story that was inspired by a silly idea from one of Moze's skins and then got serious.On Hiatus.





	1. Pimp My Raider 1

I don't own Borderlands.

* * *

“Mozey…”

Moze’s eyes fluttered open. Gazing about, she had to pinch herself. No way the thing she was seeing was real.

“Iron Bear?”

A pair of arms wrap around her. Sure enough, Iron Bear stands before her. Except it was more of a humanoid figure… dressed in what can only be described as… scandalous. Taking the form of a leopard print blouse and short skirt, orchid fishnets hang down surprisingly long legs and ending in a set of leopard print heels.

“Don’t you like it?” Iron Bear remarked, breaking the embrace and bending down to be at Moze’s level for the moment. The gunner reached out, stroking the locks of blonde hair that were right in front of her. Heck, even “You picked it out for me.”

In retrospect, maybe going for this particular skin from Earl might have not been the best idea.

“Sorry about that…” Moze whispered, head now getting patted at the moment. Shifting herself into a sitting position, she slowly touched Iron Bear’s head and found a set of teddy bear ears. Which went set against the silver skin she was sporting for the moment, was a strange juxtaposition on Moze’s part

“I just thought as your girlfriend, you wouldn’t dress me up as a wannabe MILF.” Iron Bear remarked, the words just rolling on out.”Unless my little cub wants some milk, of course~”

Moze looked away, cheeks ablaze at the moment. She wasn’t sure how to feel in this moment, let alone on the matter entirely.

“Uh… maybe later.”

With that, Moze got out of her bunk. Maybe a walk would clear this up.


	2. Pimp My Raider 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moze tries to find the answer in a bottle, but doesn't quite get there. Doesn't help when Moxxi makes an offer of taking to another level.

I don't own Borderlands.

* * *

For situations such as this, Moze needed something to drink. It didn’t matter what it was or what it came in (within reason), something to clear her head would do wonders.

“What can I get you, sugar?” Moxxi called out, making her way over to the gunner for the moment.

“Something strong.” Moze muttered, making a quick glance behind her. Then it’s back to Moxxi. “Especially if it has something to knock me back to reality.”

She got a look for that remark. Considering what she just said in that moment, is kind to be expected really.

“What do yo me-”

Before Moxxi could finish her sentence, Iron Bear came strolling on up. Quite a bit faster heels than one would expect a nine foot tall robot bear woman to be. Which was quite fast

“There you are!” Iron Bear announced, focusing in on Moxxi. “Go away, you sinister clown whore.”

In retrospect, the ‘Rubi’ that was now being pointed at them was quite justified.

“I am not a sinister clown whore.” Moxxi muttered, finger dangerously close to the trigger. "Contrary to the number of men and woman I've been in relationships with."

Both Moze and Iron Bear shot the bartender a look.

"You do realize that doesn't help your case?" Moze remarked, putting a hand on her partner. Iron Bear muttered something to herself as Moxxi lowered her gun back down. 

"So I'm guessing 'she' is your problem then?" Moxxi continued, getting a nod in return. "Well… I could teach one of you how to make love with another girl."

Moze's turned cherry when the words reached her. Moxxi couldn't be serious. Right now, the gunner wasn’t even sure whether or not she considered Iron Bear her girlfriend in the first place. Why did everyone seem to make it her mission to make life so hard on her.

“Uh… we’ll pass.” Moze remarked, finding herself facing down the puppy dog eyes from Iron Bear. “A white russian.”

The puppy dog eyes seemed to intensify.

“Two white russians.”

Moxxi nodded, heading back over to the titular bar.


	3. Pimp My Raider 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We make drunk decisions and our heroines get into a fight as the mystery deepens.

I don't own Borderlands.

* * *

It hadn’t been Moze’s plan to land back into Lectra City. If anything, that was more the fault of the White Russians. Well, that was what she thought at least.

“What’s this?” Iron Bear remarked, grabbing a card. Then she held it up to her head. “You are cordially invited to the wedding of Bloodshine and Tumorhead. Refreshments and treats will be provided.”

Bending down, she handed the card over.

“Oh. Good to see that one girl who got trapped here managed to get herself traded back.” Moze muttered. It wasn’t that she hadn’t planned to go do that. But after getting her ass kicked repeatedly by the raiders here, she made it her mission to avoid this place like the plague. But today wasn't her day at the moment. "Do you want to g-"

Iron Bear cut her off, the sound of gunfire echoing about up ahead.

"Crap." Moze muttered, digging a pistol out of her pocket. A torgue, painted pink and white with that weird racing stripe thing Moxxi gave her the other day. "You think you can lend me a hand?"

Iron Bear chuckled, grenade launchers coming out. Stepping forward, the pair found themselves surrounded on all sides by bandits. Not the sort of warm welcome you expect to have. Perfect for here.

"Death to the iron woman!"

Iron Bear shot her 'girlfriend' a glance. While they were most definitely talking about her, how could they be so insistent on her death? Just look at the sex appeal on full display right before their eyes. Any guy or gal would want to have a piece of that, right?

Yet, Moze shrugged and turned to the bandits themselves. Should be a cakewalk. Hopefully. Unless they too also had a trick up their sleeve. Which was quite possible, considering the amount of them at the moment.

"Defensive position." Moze barked, Iron Bear complying. "Let's make this quick."

The gunfight that followed is more than enough for both women to blow off some steam and get some aggression out. But that doesn’t change the question now swirling in the gunner’s head at the moment - had they been setup? Sure, they had made their fair share of enemies on the path of taking down the CoV. How did they know about Iron Bear’s change? Had something like this happened before? Sure, there was that odd tape that she found in the Meridian Metroplex.

“Better?”

Moze nodded, giving the wedding invitation one more look. She had a pretty good idea where it was. Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. I don't really like Lectra City. Mostly because a lot of my first run there consisted of me getting into long loops of dying and respawning. Now, it's alright.
> 
> Definitely not my favorite. We will be seeing a change of outfits soon enough.


	4. Pimp My Raider 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We have ourselves a weddings and Moze catches something.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Thankfully, the rest of the trip to the supposed wedding site was pretty unremarkable.

“We have all gathered here today to see the union of Bloodshine and Tumorhead." the 'priest' (a bandit dressed in the robes of one) explained to the crowd of former CoV cultists and bandits. Moze and Iron Bear were seated in the back. That way, no one could accuse either of them of blocking anyone's view of the event.

"Something wrong, Mozey?" Iron Bear inquired, getting a sigh from her companion. Moze was currently fixated on her echo device, listening to the message over and over again. "Mozey?"

Moze looked up from her echo.

"Sorry." she whispered, letting her gaze return to the wedding. The threat earlier still changed into her mind. But right now, she could push it to the back of her mind.

"Do you Bloodshine, take Tumorhead as your legal wife?" the priest continued, turning to the woman on his left. Dressed in what one can only describe as a fiery red dress, she seemed to shine brightly in Promethea's night. Taking a deep breath, her attention turned to Tumorhead.

"I do." Bloodshine answered, the priest turning to the woman on the right. Unlike Bloodshine, she had gone for more of a suit. Though, the garment looked to of had far better days on her. Not that anyone was really judging right now.

"I absolutely do." Tumorhead answered, not even waiting for the priest to speak. Nonetheless, the priest cleared his throat tried his best to split his attention between the two women.

"You may now kiss the bride."

The two bandit's lips met in a loving embrace, with Bloodshine being the one to throw the bouquet. While everyone had agreed to leave their weapons at the door for this special occasion, that didn't stop the various bandits and cultist from fighting over the bundle of flowers.

"I got it!" Iron Bear announced, snatching the flowers away from a bruiser. Looking down towards them, she handed it off to Moze. "These are for you, dear."

Moze looked away. As nice of a gesture as it was, her feelings in regard to Iron Bear still a complete mess. Sure, she could love this strange women. But could Iron Bear understand just how broken the gunner was within? All the days she had alone, facing all the blood covering her hands and the sins she had committed. Though, that didn’t explain why she felt dizzy all of a sudden. The world began to spin around and everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of our first arc. Overall, I'm quite surprised by the support that this fic has been getting. Thank you. 
> 
> Next skin will be Anshin Wash.


	5. Anshin Wash 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moze had a nightmare. Thankfully, Iron Bear is there for her.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Moze’s eyes slowly opened back up.

Once more, she was back on Sanctuary III. But things don’t seem right. Just out of the corner of her vision, she could make out a set of bat wings stretching out of her back. Add in the spade-tipped tail swaying about, the succubus was ready to go out on the prowl for women.

“Hmm…” she whispered, gazing about her quarters. While there was no one in sight at the moment, someone had to have the assets she was looking for. There had to be.

“No, you don’t.”

A heavy hand grabbed hold of Moze’s body. Shifting her body around, she found herself face to face with Iron Bear. Except instead of one anthropomorphic mech, there now stood six iron bears.

“You left us to die.” one of the iron bears announced, their voice masculine to some extent. “Were we not good enough?”

Moze looked away.

“There was like, still a chance.” a different Iron Bear shouted, a girly voice echoing out with a bubbly tone. Each word a dagger into Moze’s body. Twisted further for good measure in that moment.

“You’ve forgotten about us, haven’t you?” the third iron bear announced, voice deeper than the gunner remembered it being. The result is still the same though. One more knife in her body. Twisted even more.

The fourth iron bear is silent, choosing instead to look away. Moze doesn’t say anything. Which made the glare of the fifth all the more painful.

“You knew this was a suicide mission. Why didn’t you stop any of us?!” the fifth screeched, almost ready to tear into the few parts of the gunner that weren’t covered in knives at the moment.

“Mozey, it’s alright.” the sixth cooed, putting a hand - paw on her chest. “Iron Bear is here for you.”

The world began to spin around as light filtered through.

Moze’s eyes shot open. She was still back in her room, the strange attachments to her body long gone. Iron Bear stood before her, dressed in a nurse outfit quite fitting for the 1950’s with matching fishnet stockings and short heels.

“Ugh…” Moze thought and got a chuckle from her ‘girlfriend’ in return.


	6. Anshin Wash 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We got ourselves a backstory. Definitely was not expecting this now, were you?

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

In a way, Moze was less than thrilled to find her wannabe MILF replaced with a sexy nurse. Let alone after that strange nightmare she had gotten herself trapped in. Echoes of it still played in the back of her head.

“Something wrong, Mozey?” Iron Bear chimed, getting a deep breath from the gunner. Where could she even begin? The nightmares? The memories of her fellow pilots who fell in that accursed bay?

Yet, she took a deep breath and sat herself up. Nothing else, she needed to start from the beginning. 

"Yes." Moze whispered, tears rolling right on down. "Do you think I can tell you?"

Iron Bear nodded. She was always willing to lend an ear to her girlfriend. No matter the situation or how awful the things Moze might have possibly done.

"I'm all ears." she answered, taking a seat in a nearby chair. Moze nodded, ready to tell her story.

.

_ Tediore Planet Sercannus-3 _

Vladof's Ursa Corps stomps through, doing battle with the digistructed forces of Tediore. For a young teenage Moze, she knew what she had wanted to be.

"You can do it, Iron Bear!" she shouted, sounding more like a schoolgirl than that of a rough and tough mechanic. The Iron Bear unit outside waves towards her. In that one single moment, the future gunner made a promise.

"One day, I'll pilot an Iron Bear unit." she had thought, smile on her face. In retrospect, that was just pure naivety. 

To think they were only there for three days. Three whole days! When the time came for the Ursa Corps to leave for wherever they would be heading for next, Moze had been one of the few to see them off. Well, if you didn’t count the horde of skags that 

The next year or so consisted of just saving up the money from errands and repairs for the flight to wherever the Ursa Corps main base was located. Which as it turned out, was wherever Vladof wanted it to be. Moze had gotten lucky, accidentally stumbling upon the place while flying around. There, she walked up to the receptionist desk and set down the cash.

"Can I help you, miss?" the receptionist, a tall muscular woman greeted, pushing the money away to have a good view.

“I would like to become a part of the Ursa Corps.” Moze barked, getting a look from the receptionist in return. After, a clipboard with paperwork was shoved through the flap. She just nodded, taking a seat to fill it out. A few minutes later, she was back up at the receptionist. “Here you go.”

The receptionist nodded, taking the time to look over the paperwork.

“Head on through.” she announced, pointing to a nearby door.

Back in the real world, Moze found herself assaulted by a box of tissues.

“Sorry.” Iron Bear chimed, finding what looked to be a Jabber of all things climbing up her back. Picking it up, she gave it a look. “Excuse me.”

Flinging it onto the floor, her gaze returned to Moze.

“Continue.”


	7. Anshin Wash 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second half of Moze's backstory. Also, Fl4K shows up at the end. So, it's not all bad. Kinda.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

After getting suited up, then came basic training. Possibly the only sane part of the Ursa Corps program now that Moze thought about. Here, she had found herself falling into a then favorite hobby of hers - playing MMO’s. She wasn’t sure why Vladof’s browsers had so many suggestions, but she tried them all to an extent. One of her favorites had been some obscure (to her at least) called Slumbering Darkness. Sure, it sometimes tried a little bit too hard to get you to spend money on it, but the atmosphere and world building was unlike anything that Moze had ever experienced. Even after getting to travel across the galaxy, part of her still wanted to hunt down a wireless terminal and see if the game was still running. The least of her worries at the moment.

In that digital space, friendships had been forged, rivalries were fought and muscle memory of certain functions were ingrained into the gunner's head. Oh and a love for succubi too boot. So what if they were seducers of men? Maybe everyone has been misreading their name or have just seen only one in their life. Had to be a mix of both.

But those sort of joyous times weren’t meant to last. The moment that she stepped into her iron bear unit was the moment that things had all went downhill. You start to lose track of time when you’re on a mission. What seems like an eternity can just be a few days in certain frames of mind. So Moze tried her best to get to know her fellow fighters. Easier said than done. Mostly because Vladof seemed to go through manpower far faster than their guns would ever suggest. By the time the gunner had really gotten to know her teammates, she would be moved around or those people would disappear - off on some mission. Then there was the higher-ups themselves. What was with their insistence on misleading those who served under them? Bad enough the number of missions left to serve changing on you, but at least keep it consistent. Especially when some of the more well-traveled members of the corps were starting to keep track.

"This is your new squad." her commander barked, Moze taking them in. Recruits, just out of basic training. Part of her pitied them to an extent. So young and to some extent... naive. Kind of like how Moze used to be before this mess. Not that the gunner could really remember those days.

"We're heading off to Parurvian Bay.” Moze started, the urge to break into a storm of swears quite intense at the moment. “Things might not turn out great for us. But I’ll get you through, no matter what.”

Murmurs echo across her squad, the news less than ideal. Maybe it would’ve been better had they heard her outburst. But she pushed those feelings to the backburner of her mind for the moment.

The massacre that came the following day was all the more worse. While their names escaped her, their voices still hung close in her head. Taunting her, mocking her of forgetting in the mess that was this new war and its smoldering ashes. War sure as hell don’t change, but the ways they inflict it upon sure do. Doesn't matter where you go or what you do, this mess just sticks to you.

Back in the real world, things went calm once more.

“Moze could I get you a hug?” Iron Bear whispered, Moze’s gaze now on the floor. Tissues were in short supply, with the last box now a flat reminder of wounds still open.

“Yeah…” she whispered, feeling the massive arms of her former mech wrap around her. It felt quite wonderful.

“Moze.”

Such moments weren’t meant to last though. Turning to the doorway, Fl4k stood there in what the gunner could only assume to be in a good mood. Hard to tell when their face’s expression never really changed.

“Tannis asked me to hunt you down, said something about Iron Be-”

The beastmaster’s gaze focused in on Iron Bear. Doing a double take, their focus shifted to Moze.

“I’m just going to assume she’s yours and leave you for the moment.”

Moze flashed a thumbs up, getting up from the bed and headed for the doorway. Iron Bear followed right behind, squeezing through to the best of her abilities.


	8. Anshin Wash 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A visit to Tannis and the wheels of the plot begin rolling.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Walking to Tannis’s Clinic was to some extent tempting fate - no matter the situation. It usually meant something crazy was going to go down. Whether you wanted it too or not.

“This better not be a shot.” Moze muttered, hand firmly gripping Iron Bear’s at the moment. While she wasn’t a big fan of having needles injected into her arm, Tannis just made it worse. Somehow. Didn't help that Amara and Fl4k had to hold her down to get it in.

"Mozey, do you need to hold my hand?" Iron Bear inquired, getting a nod from the gunner. Carefully, the mecha bear woman grabbed hold and slowed herself down. The stairs came right after, a turn to the left coming right after. Then they were at the clinic. Tannis gave a wave, the pair making their way inside.

“Oh my.” Tannis announced, gaze fixating on Iron Bear for the moment. “So, she just turned into this the other day.”   
Moze nodded.

“Yeah.” she answered, trying her best to focus on Tannis for the moment. Yesterday felt like a complete blur, none of it made any sense. “Has this… happened before?”

Tannis took a deep breath.

“Not that my mind can remember…” the siren started, only to freeze. “While not quite on the same level of this, we did have a woman seven years ago mention something about her robot acting... strange.”

Moze did a double take. Sure, Lilith and the other former vault hunters were kind of tight-lipped about their teammates, but to hear about a girl with a robot.

“Define ‘strange’.” the gunner remarked, getting a sigh from Tannis. Currently, she was poking Iron Bear’s stomach.

“She claimed that her robot - Deathtrap was constantly hugging her and would occasionally say ‘I love you Ggey.’. Something strange and bizzare.”

Moze rolled her eyes.

“Do you know what happened to her?” the gunner inquired and got another sigh. “Let me guess, she disappeared off the face of the ea-

Iron Bear gave her a poke.

“Mozey, that tape!” she announced, Moze digging into her pockets. Out came a tape, which went right into her currently clear-shelled echo 3.

“Shanneth Kyle here today with the president of Holloway Robotics, whose utility robots have become a ubiquitous sight across our planet. Mr Holloway, what’s the secret to your success?”

“While the six galaxies breathed a sigh of relief when Hyperion cancelled the CL4P-TP lines, it left unfulfilled space in the robotics market. Holloway Robotics is proud of our flagship product, the Crime Buster Bot, and we saw an opportunity to expand it into other utilities.”

“And what’s next for Holloway Robotics?”

“Well Shanneth, I see us expanding into new territories, refining our production processes, and finally exacting horrible revenge on the rogue killer who murdered my genius daughter in the prime of her life.”

Moze stopped the device before the last line played. The point was crystal clear.

“I would suggest you go find this Mr Holloway person and do whatever you people do.” Tannis remarked, getting a sigh from the gunner in return. “While you do that, I’ll look into this data I just collected.   
“Sounds good, Rubber Lady!” Iron Bear announced, getting a look from Tannis as she pulled away. “Now what, Mozey?”

Moze sighed. Kind of obvious, but she said it anyway.

“We head to Promethea and find this guy.” the gunner announced, turning to Iron Bear. “Before that, I think my favorite gal needs to change her clothes.”

Iron Bear’s cheeks turned pink, letting herself get led along for the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I started writing this, I was going for more of a fun fic. That snowballed into this. I'm used to it, especially with your support on this. Thank you.
> 
> Next Skin will be Candy Raver. Which is going to be quite fun.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New outfit as we head for Promethea. Though, I'm not certain Iron Bear is quite on board with this.

I don’t own borderlands.

* * *

“Mozey, you sure about this?”

Moze nodded, giving the screen one more look. As choices went, there were definitely far better choices of patterns to try. But this felt right at the moment. The first time had been the result of trying out a skin without knowing what would occur. The second choice had been made by Iron Bear herself. If the gunner had to take a guess on how exactly her ‘girlfriend’ managed to accomplish that, it was probably a simple matter of inputting the code for what was it? Oh right, Anshin Wash. Which was ‘119’ for some reason. Not that it mattered for the moment.

She held still, feeling the lasers apply the pattern to her getup. As feelings get, it was a strange cross between a tickle and a barb. But not like a needle, thank god for that. Though, the spray these things used for hair was absolutely the worst. But she beared through it for the moment. Especially since it meant getting something special.

“What do you think?” she inquired and got a look from her partner. It was quite clear that she didn’t get why exactly Moze had chosen this outfit. The humanoid mecha even took a couple steps back for good measure. But it was too late.

Her nurse uniform disappeared, being replaced with a bright green minidress and bloomers. Green thigh-high heels covered her legs, with short green gloves engulfing her hands. The cherry on top was her blonde hair turning a bright shade of pink and tying itself into twintails. Both were held together by cutesy-looking bear pendants, with some glitter thrown in for good measure.

Definitely not what she was expecting in that moment.

"So you like MILF's, Nurses and Magical Girls?" Iron Bear remarked, striking a cute pose for her 'girlfriend'. Which was then followed by her cheeks going pink. 

Moze just nodded. Maybe this was the result of all her travels across the galaxy. Or, maybe she just missed those sort of things.

Nonetheless, the gunner headed for the Fast Travel Station. Her ‘girlfriend’ followed right behind, even if she was less than happy about the getup for the moment.


	10. Candy Raver 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Moze gets called out on her and Iron Bear's relationship status and get ready to head to Atlas HQ.
> 
> Also, we get a magical girl pose.

I don't own fire emblem.

* * *

Promethea was still the same as ever, Maliwan takeover or not. Considering all the work that needed to be done, that was kind of expected.

For this occasion, they had landed in the Metroplex. Atlas HQ was just as good of a choice, but it would be quite rude to trespass on company property. Even if Kategawa Jr was insistent on doing just that.

“Welcome back, Moze.” Lorelei greeted, a nod being the gunner’s response. Or would’ve been, if the secretary wasn’t so keen on staring at Iron Bear for the moment. “Who’s your friend here?"

Moze took a deep breath. She had gotten so used to Iron Bear freely walking around that she had somehow forgot how weird it was for other people to see her by the gunner’s side.

“That’s Iron Bear.” she explained, Lorelei downing an entire cup of coffee in one gulp. Not a good sign. "She was my mech, now she's my favorite gal."

Lorelei nodded, a thought came to her. An honest thought. Possibly too honest in some regards, but interesting to ask nonetheless.

"So she's your girlfriend then?" the secretary remarked, Moze's face turning red. Iron Bear turned towards her, gaze quite intense at the moment. There was no good answer to Lorelei's question. If she answered truthfully, Iron Bear would probably get on her case in some dramatic. If she lied, the result was likely to be the same.

So the gunner took a deep breath and focused back on Lorelei.

"I'm not ready to talk about it quite yet." she remarked, a sigh being the secretary's response. So far, no real freak out on Iron Bear's part. In truth, was she really ready to say Iron Bear was 'her girlfriend'? They had been together for at most two days in this current state on top of the couple years served in the Vladof Ursa Corps.

"Mozey?"

No response. So the humanoid mecha carefully tapped the gunner. Still nothing. For a situation like this, desperate times call for desperate measures.

She took a deep breath and shifted her stance. Inside, a bit of her pride bit the dust. A small price to pay for Moze's love.

"Magical Shield Maiden-chan is here!" Iron Bear announced, striking a pose of sorts. The gunner's expression shifted, followed by her face turning.

"I guess you are girlfriends then." Lorelei remarked, heading over to her console. "I'll call ahead and tell Rhys you're coming."

Moze nodded, trying her best to give her girlfriend a head pat. Which sort of worked. 

"Any purpose for such a meeting?"

Both women let out a sigh. 

"Getting a meeting with Mr Holloway of Holloway Robotics." Moze explained, getting a look from Lorelei in return. "I'm going to assume that he's crazy?"

A nod.

"Just don't get yourselves killed." she remarked and got two nods as the pair headed for the catch-a-ride station.


	11. Candy Raver 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So much for the car, right?

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

With their introduction with Lorelei out of the way, it was time to pick out a vehicle. More specifically, which pattern for the Technical that should be used. A simple task, made far harder by the simple ability to customise the color itself.

“Oh! How about a bright pink?” Iron Bear remarked, getting a groan from her partner. Sure, Maliwan no longer roamed the streets, but that didn’t change the fact that the Metroplex was big in the first place.

Sure, they could walk to Atlas HQ, but this was the perfect opportunity to see how well Iron Bear would do in a vehicle. If at all. A million dollar question with one real way to answer it.

"Pink would make us a huge target." Moze explained, a look from Iron Bear the response back. Okay, the magical girl getup could be considered almost as busy as a pink technical. But that had been chosen by Moze herself and fell upon her for that decision.

So she focused back on the console and pressed the button. The technical appeared before the pair, a variation on the stealth paint scheme. Or in other words, Iron Bear got her wish.

"Can I sit right beside you?" Iron Bear continued, a sigh from Moze bring her only answer. Sure, the gunner wouldn't have minded having her girlfriend was kind of romantic. But how would the height and weight limit of the technical hold against the eight foot all woman?

"Sure…" she answered and watched Iron Bear run around and take a seat. Or at least try too. Since it's an eight foot tall robot woman trying to fit herself into a space designed for people who are a couple feet shorter. "Do you need some help?"

Iron Bear shook her head.

"I'm alm-"

The technical shattered into digital data, dropping Iron Bear to the floor. Moze walked over, hand already out. Her girlfriend grabbed hold, pulling herself up.

"Piggyback ride?" Iron Bear asked, feeling Moze get up onto her back. "I'll take that as a yes."

The pair then began their journey for Atlas HQ, unaware that a pair of figures were watching.


	12. Intermission #1: What a shame, what a shame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end of our first arc with a familiar face as the cycle of revenge continues anew.
> 
> Or Cerberus Syndrome hit this fic and we're taking it in stride.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

A woman sighed.

She had lost track of how many years it had been since she been back home. In some ways that it had and somehow… hadn’t. Felt kind of weird to be standing here. Though this Moze lady. At worse, she was going to be collateral in her path. As much as she would like to have her as an ally, her own body was close to going. Running on borrowed time, she was going to replace it with something more artificial - maybe something like that of a robot nekomata. Yeah. that sounded nice. Even if just a touch impractical.

But there were other issues at the moment.

“Mistress, one round. Please?” her nudist gynoid companion announced. No scratch that. Unofficial wife was probably the best way to describe their relationship. Sure, neither of them had taken the vow or had gone to a church. But they had been together for so long that they had felt that way. Through all the ups and downs, from the start in the Tundra to the defeat of that Jack dude. Those had been the days. Makes what she was about to do now even worse. Not that such thought

“No.” she muttered, finding her head shoved in between her gynoid’s breasts. D-Cups, they were quite a bit larger than her own. Not that she was jealous. “Were home, my dear. The least you could do is think about something other than fucking.”

Her wife looked over to her. As far gone as she was, this might be their only chance at revenge. Though, was what a little revenge without some form of anarchy.

A snap of the fingers followed, bringing with it change. For good or ill, there was only one person to blame for this. A shame she went out the way that she had. Truly a shame.

.

My, what do we have here?”

For this female firebrand, facing down the normal fire bots was a normal part of life. But this sat comfortably in a different realm of possibility. Though she had to admit, the tall woman appearing on fire was quite hot. Literally and figuratively in this case. Like a beautiful flame spirit that had chosen her of all people.

“Just a bandit.” the firebrand croaked, finding herself getting hoisted up into the air. Face-to-face with this… robot, her world had been rocked. For better or worse.

“You’re mine now.”

_ End of Arc 1 - Me and Iron Bear _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the title of this chapter is a reference to the shinedown song of the same name.


	13. Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroines continue on, but not without someone coming out of the woodwork.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

The moment the pair had entered the Metroplex proper, they could tell something was different. It wasn't some immediate change that makes itself apparent, it was more of a subtle change. All the more troubling.

“Did something happen, Mozey?” Iron Bear whispered, slowing her pace down. The gunner looked about, hand already going for her pistol. So much for a peaceful piggyback ride. For once, she had actually been looking forward to this.

“I'm not entirely sure.” she whispered and jumped off her companion. Torgue sidearm in hand, the gunner fired off a shot. Waiting for a moment, no return fire came. What did echo back was the sound of moaning. Sexual, maybe. "Did you hear that?"

Her girlfriend nodded, grenade launchers coming out. Okay, maybe that was a little overkill for this situation. Though, that was how Moze preferred to run Iron Bear. Sometimes she would throw in a minigun, but that never did quite get the same results.

"What do we have here~" a voice announced, the sound of a mini hover unit heading their way. "Yay! Two girls to play with!"

A gynoid of all robots approached. Decked out in the recycle bot color scheme, she had gone for the appearance of a dryad. Which is an interesting choice. Especially with how little in the way of actual natural trees that are here.

"Uh…" Moze started, getting a look from Iron Bear. So she chuckled and switched firing modes on her gun. While sure, she could "I'm taken."

Their visitor let out a sigh, focusing on the other person of this equation. Maybe if she got rid of them, then she could have this girl. She looked cute and mostly stable. A massive step up from all these bandit girls.

“Can I have her please?” the ‘dryad’ remarked, cracking a massive smile. Quite threatening and definitely not the best message to show when you’re trying to steal someone’s girlfriend.

“Emerald Explosion Blast!” Iron Bear announced and struck a pose as their opponent blew up. Getting a chuckle from Moze, the pair headed on.


	14. Do you believe in miracles?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which our heroines get a helping hand.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

For being the ones spearheading the rebuilding of Promethea, Atlas HQ was located in the most inconvenient spot that it could be. Moze could remember vividly the firefight that had occured the first time she had come here.

“Here we are.” Moze muttered, getting off of her girlfriend. “Hopefully no one will sh-”

The sound of a large armored suit lumbered about echoed towards them, while ‘Do you believe in magic?’ played in the background. Wait. What?

Turning their attention to the courtyard, a large armored princess doll stomped about. Birds flew around the strange amalgamation, the screams of the pilot just barely heard.

"Let me out of here." they whisper, the pair making their way over. "You can do that, right?"

Moze took a deep breath. On one hand, it wasn't this guy's fault he was currently trapped in a giant princess suit. On the other hand, he was a maliwan trooper. If there was one around, that meant there was bound to be more.

"There they are!"

Speak of the devil, more come right out of the woodwork. Because of course they do. While unaffected by whatever virus that their teammate has picked up, they looked no less distressed at the moment. Which to be fair, is kind of understandable at the moment.

“Mozey, what should we do?” Iron Bear inquired, attention back on her girlfriend for the moment. Moze took a deep breath, debating their options for the moment. On one hand, their destination right within walking distance. But that also meant having to wade their way through the gunfire of Maliwan troops and their elemental weapons.

“We put the one guy out of his misery.” the gunner remarked, pistol coming back out once more. “As for the rest, that’s up to you.”

Iron Bear nodded, forgoing the magical girl dance this time around. Not enough space, on top of just being a spur of the moment idea. Especially in this kind of embarrassing outfit she had on right now. The next outfit was her choice. Nonetheless, she began to launch out grenades. A singularity here, a singularity there, simple work.

On Moze’s end, she was hard at work keeping the attention of the armored princess. Which basically meant shooting it and hoping they followed. All while that stupid tune played in the background.

“Come on…” she muttered, a click erupting from her gun. Of course she ran out of ammo at this moment of all times. Just h-

“Aspis, Protect me!”

A circle of sorts shot forward, slamming into the opponent. An electric shock followed, the princess shattering into a million pieces. Turning around, both gunner and mecha turned around. There, a woman stood. Dressed in an atlas uniform and hood, she meant business. As for what said business is, that remains to be seen.


	15. Greetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What it says on the tin as we finally enter Atlas HQ.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Athena was not having a good day.

For starters, Janey had just been pulled off-planet for a solo assignment of some kind. While the married couple made an effort to be together when they could, that wasn't without challenge. So she had taken to patrolling the courtyard of Atlas HQ. Normally, this was an utter bore post-maliwan invasion. Sometimes, she would have some ratch to at least have target practice on. But today just had to be different. Today just had to be the day things were going all haywire for some reason. Which for some reason, had brought maliwan troopers out of the woodwork. Because of course they did. When they didn’t have their noses shoved up their butts, they just needed to get in other people’s way.

“So is the large lady yours?” she inquired, getting a nod from the strange soldier girl standing before her. “Good. I’m guessing you’re a couple as well?”

Her suspect looked away, a nod eventually coming out. Figures. Of course she somehow ran into the one other group of lesbians on this stupid planet. While they most definitely have business with Rhys, of what kind remained to be seen.

“Yep. Mozey and I are dating!” the large robot woman announced, hoisting her companion up at the moment. “Do you have a special someone, shield lady?”

That remark got the robot a look from her girlfriend. Though to be fair, Athena hadn’t really introduced herself. So it could be looked past for the moment.

“Athena.” she greeted, watching her suspect get put down and then focus on her for the moment. “As for you two?”

“Moze.” the soldier greeted and pointed to her companion. “That’s Iron Bear.”

Iron Bear gave a wave, followed by a smile as she grabbed her girlfriend’s hand. Moze gave it a slight squeeze, flashing a smile for the briefest of moments.

“We’re here to see if Rhys can help us schedule a meeting with Holloway Robotics.” Iron Bear explained, Athena looking towards them with concern.

“You sure you want to do that?”

Moze nodded. As much as she got the feeling that she and her girlfriend needed to stay as far away from this place. But if they wanted to get some answers, there wasn’t much of a choice.

“Let me escort you to Rhys at least.”

The pair nodded, destination finally here.


	16. Meeting, or not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We have our meeting and of course things go wrong.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Inside, Atlas HQ looked the same as it always had. Big and imposing, yet quite kind. A strange yet effective combination. Though, adding a miniature lazy river is not the sort of thing one would expect to see.

“Mozey, do you think we can go ride that?” Iron Bear whispered, getting a deep breath from her girlfriend. While the last time she had actually been swimming in some capacity had to be before joining the Ursa Corps, the thought had come up once twice. But considering how often the water of a planet was less than habitable or worse, filled with dangerous beasts, the thought usually left her as quickly as it had come in. Then there was the thought of her girlfriend taking a ride within said river. Sure, she would probably look absolutely sexy. If you didn’t count the problem of how to get the nine foot tall woman out after her swim. Better yet, could she even swim in the first place? Or would she just sink to the ground? Just the thought alone was food for thought. Better yet, what kind of swimsuit would she wear. Iron Bear was at least a ‘D’ cup, maybe a bikini. Just the thought alone was actually kind of hot.

“I’ll have to think about it.” Moze answered, turning to Athena. While she didn’t mind having someone escort them to the office of Rhys, the gunner was still cautious for the moment. Especially with the increase of killer bimbo robots on the loose. Which, fair enough. Stepping into the elevator, they headed on up. Complete with elevator music.

“This is nice.” Iron Bear remarked, only for the elevator to just stop on them. “Uh… Is this supposed to ha-”

Moze looked over to her girlfriend, a bright flash streaking across her vision.

“Shit, shit, shit.” the gunner muttered as she felt someone grab hold of her. Looking about, she couldn’t find the source of such creature or perhaps - person in this case. Yet, they laughed at her. Not that Moze found any of this funny.

“Sorry about this.” a voice announced as the world went dark.


	17. Meltdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iron Bear takes Moze's disappearance as well as you think she would. Poorly.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Iron Bear couldn’t quite remember the last time she had actually been away from Moze. Sure, there had been times when the gunner was ‘separated’ from her. But that had usually been the result of sleeping with her squadmates. This was on a whole different level. That person had just popped on in, ripping Mozey away from her and teleported away without a second thought. She couldn’t think of anything that they did to somehow piss this mystery person off. Outside of taking out the robot from earlier.

“You going to be alright?” Athena inquired, getting a sigh from the mecha girl. Looking away, she let her eyes close. Visions of days long past came rushing back in. That stupid fucking bay… Forced to watch her fellow units get turned into nothing but scrap. Then came the time right after. There was no eulogy for the fallen. No recognition for their efforts. The war in whatever form just marched on without any of them. Sure, there might’ve been other Iron Bear

“What do you think?!” she screeched, slamming the gladiator into the wall of the elevator. “My girlfriend just got kidnapped and I couldn’t do anything to stop it! It’s been my mission to make sure that she isn’t killed and I just blew it!”

Athena’s hand connects with Iron Bear’s face, knocking the mecha back a couple inches. Doesn’t really phase her that much. Physically, at least. Mentally, it was 

“I understand that sort of feeling.” Athena muttered, looking down towards the elevator floor. “The last couple years weren’t the greatest. Watched nearly everyone I know died, nearly died myself. Did meet the love of my life though.”

Iron Bear didn’t even look at her. Instead, her focus was on the door in front of her. The elevator came to a stop, doors opening up. Before Athena even had a chance to really warn her boss, Iron Bear was already making a beeline for Rhys.

“How can I he-’

Metal hands slam down onto the CEO’s desk, fury held back somehow. Okay. Scratch that, it’s pretty obvious that Iron Bear really wanted to rip off his mustache.

“Meeting. Holloway Robotics.” she barked, taking a seat in the chair. It shattered under her weight. Not a good sign.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last segment for a bit. Mostly so I can go on break to play Pokemon Sword.


	18. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moze wakes up and tries to make some sense of what just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Back' from break and easing back into this. Hope you enjoy.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Moze sighed, letting her eyelids slowly flutter open.

Her head felt like it had been hit with a sledgehammer covered in toxin and whatever the hell was in those radiation barrels. Seriously, she made an effort to stay away but it always manage to cover her. Not that this situation was currently helped by all the darkness at the moment. Where exactly was she right now? Everything had that dirt smell to it. You know, the sort of thing you would expect out of a tunnel or cave. Outside of the caverns leading to Promethea’s vault, this had to be the former. Maybe. That or Atlas had something like this built before they went bankrupt.

“Oh good. You finally decided to wake up.”

Turning around, the gunner found herself staring down a cloaked woman. She couldn’t be any taller than her, nor was she as built. Though that wasn’t saying anything when people like Amara existed in this universe. Now would be a good time to have someone like her to help with this mess.

Nonetheless, she let her focus shift fully to the person right now. Sure, they had just gone out of their way to capture her. But at least they could give some kind of answer on what the hell was going on.

“I’m sorry you were caught in the crossfire.” the woman remarked, finding a knife already pointed her way. “Now, now, let’s not be hasty.”   
The knife gets closer, Moze holding back all the things she wished to say in that moment.

“You just kidnapped me from my girlfriend.” the gunner growled, knife giving away for her pistol. This whole trip had been a complete and utter disaster. Anything to salvage this mess into something useful would be widely appreciated. “I’m sure as fuck not going to trust you.”

A slight kick followed, with Moze looking for somewhere, anywhere to go from here. But no such opening appeared for her.

“We’re right under Holloway Robotics at the moment.” the woman continued, sounds of earth meeting metal echoing about. “You’re going to have to stay with me for the moment if you want out.”

She got a muttering of some obvious threat from her captive. For now at least, they would just be ignored. Far easier that way,.


	19. Full Steam Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iron Bear works out the details. Mostly. Calming down, is a bit more trickier.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Rhys was used to negotiations going very, horribly wrong. Maybe that's why Katagawa Jr was still hanging around his roof and shouting about something. Even if he was certain that didn’t quite count as ‘negotiations’.

“Uh… are you sure?” he remarked, trying to remember whether or not he actually had the contact information for Holloway Robotics. Or the last time he really talked to the CEO in the first place. Though, the stories he had heard were less than pretty. “Most people I know that go into there don’t come back... right.”

Iron Bear looked to her host. While she understood the words that had come from his mouth, that didn't change the fact that this brought her no closer to the goal of visiting this place. If anything, it was as if Rhys was deflecting for some reason. She had played a part in bringing down Katagawa Jr. Even if he was still somehow hanging around the place for some reason.

"I don't care! Mozey just got kidnapped and I'm not leaving here till you set up a meeting!" the mecha countered, fists slamming against the desk once more. "This is all the information I have."

Rhys let out a sigh. Iron Bear wasn’t keen on budging and he doubted that Athena would able to restrain her. A change in strategy was going to be necessary for getting to an agreement here.

“Miss, I need you to calm down.” he remarked, trying his most peaceful that he could muster in that moment. “I get that you’re mad. Rightfully so. But right now, you’re frustrated and angry. I can’t quite make a meeting in good faith with you like that.”

Iron Bear looked away, muttering veiled threats as she tried to follow her opponent’s instructions. So she took a seat for the moment. That didn’t really help though. After all, Moze was who knows where without her.

“Okay.” the mecha muttered, focusing back on Rhys. “What are your terms?”

That response got Iron Bear a look. Especially since it was quite clear that he didn’t have any in the first place.

“Well, I need you to calm down in the first place.” the CEO of Atlas explained, gaze coming on Athena for the moment. “Can you escort her to Holloway Robotics?”

The gladiator gave a nod, making her way over to Iron Bear. Then her gaze is back on Rhys. Muttering followed, heard loud and clear by him.

“Of course, I’ll make sure that Janey is here by the time you get back.” Rhys answered, watching the pair head back towards the elevator. But not before Iron Bear took at least one potshot in Katagawa’s direction. She missed, but that was kind of the point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, a bonus involving the new skin revealed for the first DLC.


	20. Little Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We check in on our firebrand and her mistress.
> 
> Yes, I'm aware I promised a bonus. I forgot. Next time, for sure.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Mr Holloway couldn’t help but chuckle at the moment. Never one for real irony (unless it came at the cost of his opponents), this took the cake. A lottery ticket sounded nice at the moment. If he didn’t own a substantial part of that program.

This was by far one of the worst days in his time as CEO of Holloway Robotics. Not only were his products malfunctioning and causing havoc all across Promethea, they all had turned into lesbians. Lesbians! They could’ve turned out bi, but no. That would’ve been just too hard in the grand scheme of this mystery person. So instead, he got himself the next best thing - our luckless bandit and her atronach of a girlfriend. Okay, it was more that they walked up on this particular area and this was what happened. Directions are never really the strong suit of a bandit. Let alone a firebrand.

“Stay by me.” the ‘atronach’ remarked, getting a nod in return. While she understood this person to be her 'creator' to an extent, something within her own programming seemed more than ready to defy him for the sake of keeping this firebrand to herself. Even if that meant sending a message to this man. Especially that balcony he was standing on. Yeah. That's as good a place as any to start this madness. Even better would be shutting this guy up.

"I command you to aim for the platform that bad man is standing on, Kindling." she announced, watching her slave nod. As good as their obedience might be, they would need to work on their follow through. Yet their aim was true and their bomb sailed right up to our nefarious CEO. The flames that came forth were absolutely beautiful to say nothing of the middle finger they were getting.

"Do we go?" Kindling inquired, finding herself pulled up onto her mistress's back. Warmth and comfort, the perfect combination for a piggyback ride. Especially if they could get off this rock. Or would've been, had someone decided to begin throwing rocks their way. "Leave her alone!"

Another middle finger. This one slightly more visible to the pair as the firebrand brought a smg out. A DAHL of all things. No brand loyalty here after the fall of the twin gods or something. Though, watching those flaming bullets spew right on out is absolutely mesmerizing. Combined with the fireballs being spewed all about by her mistress, it can’t be that much longer before this whole city is ablaze.


	21. Money, Money, Money...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this non-canon bonus, we have ourselves a stripper, too much fake cash pattern and Amara.

I don't own borderlands.

“I’m not sure about this new outfit, Mozey.”

As per usual with the quick-change station, there was no real telling what you get - outfit wise. Sure, the gunner had managed to gauge some options through testing and trial-and-error, but that didn’t change the surprise she got some times while doing this.

“Let me see at least.” Moze remarked, watching her partner exit the station. In retrospect, she was going to have to agree with her here.

The bright green of the benjamin pattern did little in the way of being appealing. Especially when it was on a blouse that showed off far more cleavage than Moze liked to see. A short skirt continued the look, leading right into a set of green fishnets and a set of heels decorated with that same stupid pattern. Seriously, that look absolutely awful.

“Eh. You’ve worn worse.” Moze remarked, getting a look from her girlfriend. “What? Don’t say the magical girl outfit.”

Iron Bear looked away. Muttering of possible frustrations coming right after, even if she was fairly certain that Moze clearly heard what she had said.

“Moze!”

Amara ran on up, muscles and all. Decked out in her normal outfit, she actually looked presentable. But that isn’t saying much in regards to 

“Can I wrestle Iron Bear?” the siren remarked, getting a look from her teammate. The answer should seem pretty obvious. “Though, why do you have dressed up like a stripper?”

Moze’s face turned bright red. How the hell was she supposed to answer a question like that without making this anymore awkward. She had been expecting something more akin to a trophy wife, maybe even a bimbo. Not a stripper ready to take it all off at any moment.   
“Sure!” Iron Bear announced, not even giving her girlfriend a chance to really answer the question. Oops. “Strip wrestling or regular?”   
Amara let out a chuckle.

“The former.” she answered, pulling Iron Bear over to the middle of the room. But not before letting Moze take a couple steps back. Don’t want to hurt anyone in the process. Even if it’s obviously clear that you shouldn’t try this. At all.


	22. Into the hornet's nest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moze and her kidnapper's enter Holloway Robotics.

I don't own borderlands.

“We’re here.”

Moze let out a sigh of relief. After god knows how long underground, they were finally about to surface. If she wasn’t a hostage at the moment, the gunner probably would’ve celebrated this fact. Even then, it was highly likely they were about to enter a ratch nest of epic proportions.

“So what exactly do you plan to accomplish by doing this?” she inquired, laughter echoing out from her captors. If this were any other situation, a bullet to the head would’ve been the answer back. But that wouldn’t do much right now - especially with no real way of knowing where she was at the moment.

“Revenge.” the woman muttered, tears coming down her face. “You can do all the good in the world, but it can never change the one bad thing that you inadvertently caused.”

Moze looked on over. While she wasn’t entirely sure what this strange woman was talking about, the gunner got the feeling that the answer was a lot more complicated than it seemed. At least in regards to whatever said revenge was.

Before she had a chance to really ask for a further explanation, an explosion rang out. Metal floor falling through, our kidnapper and their robot poke their head on though.

“Eh. Kind of what I was expecting to happen.” the woman remarked, tossing what looked to be a grenade of some kind. Giving it a few seconds to go off, a sniper rifle comes on out.

“Take a shot, dear.”

Moze had to do a double take. Her ears had to be deceiving her. Talking guns weren’t the weirdest thing in the world, just very uncommon. Then there was the skin of the weapon. Sure, she usually went for either the gunfetti or bright pink, but this one reminded her of that one sniper rifle given to her by Lilith. Maybe this woman knew her. Could easily be have been a vault hunter. Even if the former commander of the crimson raiders claimed she was the one who killed Handsome Jack. 

“Yeah. She does that.” the woman remarked, grabbing hold of the ledge. “I got it off some guy when Sanctuary got infected. She’s served me well all this time.”

Another look, cut off by the woman’s companion pulling her up. Inside, it was a full-on robot orgy. Except all the robots seemed to be all the same model for some reason. None of them looked nice at all. The sort that would steal your stuff and never give it back. Because of course they don’t.

“Sanctuary. Infected?” Moze finally announced, getting a chuckle in return. Especially as the woman’s companion looked over to her.

“Ask Lilith.”

Silence. Part of Moze suspected it might be best to keep her mouth shut. 

“Lilith’s dead. Sacrificed herself to stop the Calypso’s from sending the moon into Pandora.”

The woman looked away, muttering something under their breath.

“Maya?”

“Dead.”

A robot’s head goes flying, bringing their attention over to the trio. Oopsy?


	23. Taking the long way around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We continue our introspection with Iron Bear and Athena reminiscing. It's not all bad. Well, except for the fact that everything is on fire.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

As it would turn out, the actual trip to Holloway Robotics from Atlas HQ was quite a bit further than one would think it to be. Especially when the only mode of transport you have access to is piggyback rides. Which makes this the perfect time to play twenty questions. Or whatever the pandoran version of it is.

“So you were a vault hunter?” Iron Bear remarked, getting a sigh from Athena. While most of the people she and Moze met (vault hunter-wise) seemed pleasant enough, she wasn’t quite sure with Athena here.

“Kinda.” the vault hunter remarked, looking down towards the ground. Had it really been that long ago? Had to be. “Took a job that spiraled out of control and nearly paid for it with my life. Though it wasn’t all bad.”

Iron Bear took a left and ducked into a side alleyway. Athena managed to hang on during that strange maneuver. Better question is where Iron Bear learned to drift. Not that such an answer really matters for the moment. More food for thought.

“What do you mean?” she inquired, taking the time to check for any possible robots. When none were found, the mecha girl continued forward.

“While looking for that stupid vault, I met the love of my life - Janey.” Athena continued, grip shifting on her ride. Nothing major, more for comfort at the moment. “She had hooked me and everyone up with vehicles. After things went south, she found me again and we joined Rhys’s group.”

Exiting the alleyway, Iron Bear took the time to scan the area. While there was a hint of smoke in the general area, it was so faint that it was near impossible to really find the source of any possible fire - if any that it was coming from.

“So you’re a two-time vault hunter then?” the mecha girl continued and got a chuckle in return. “Though, Moze and I helped find four vaults. One of them the supposed ‘great vault’ or something.”

Athena looked away, a question coming to her mind.

“What’s your thought on Lilith?” the vault hunter continued, her ride coming to a stop. “It’s not that I don’t like her per say, just… she sometimes lets her feelings drive the technical rather than her hands. If you get what I’m saying.”

Iron Bear doesn’t answer, trying her best to understand this strange metaphor her passenger had just used. While the basic concept seemed simple enough, it was unlikely that they meant it literally. Perhaps they meant emotions. Had to be.

“Sure, Lilith made some mistakes, but she was human. Judging from someone like Moze, you’re supposed to make lots of those. Or something.”

Athena remained silent, gaze swinging to the left.

“Not to change subjects, but I’m fairly certain that isn’t supposed to be on fire.” the vault hunter remarked, Iron Bear doing a double take. Of course there had to be fire for the moment. She doubted her costume would hold, but then Moze would be angry. “Time to fight some fires.”


	24. I don't want to set the world on fire...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we check on our other group and what's this? I think we have ourselves a story. Sounds kind of familiar. Like I've heard part of this before.

I don't own borderlands.

In retrospect, this was bound to happen. With this strange combination of a strange woman, talking sniper rifle and her just as strange companion along with Moze, something had to go wrong. Though, that begs the question on why there's nothing in the way of sprinklers or actual real extinguishers here in Promethea. Perhaps that was the point of the fire fighting robots. Though right now, Moze's attention found itself split between making sure that her wannabe kidnappers didn't get hurt on top of staying out of the flames.

Wouldn't be that bad, if not for all the robots who had decided that they would just maul the trio for interrupting their orgy. Yeah. They were going about it for some reason. Which just begs even more questions at the moment.

"You idiot." Moze muttered, firing her pistol off into a robot's foot. Flicking the switch, the bullets went boom and there was no more robot. "What made you think that setting this place on fire was the best solution here?"

The woman let out a sigh.

"Hey. If I had known that this place was going up in flames, I wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of heading back here." the woman muttered, switching to what looked to be a shotgun. Jakobs, not that Moze recognized the orange and white stripes running down the barrel. "Good enough of a revenge for me."

Moze rolled her eyes. At this point, she was more than a little curious on what exactly that meant. Especially after dropping right into.

"For what?" the gunner muttered, getting a look from the woman. "I'm willing to listen to whatever you have to say."

A sigh, followed by the woman looking to her companion. A nod followed. 

"Whole mess started back when I was a teenager." the woman began, shotgun going off. A clean shot, then it's back over to our gunner. "Big science contest for stuff in regards to security and stuff..."

.

A teenage girl gets out of her bed.

Today is going to be a big day. She just knows it. This is perhaps her one and only chance to dethrone Marcy Holloway. Getting dressed in her usual school uniform, she takes the time to style her hair into it's usual style.

With that out of the way, she's over to her desk and turns on her recording equipment.

"Hello to my faithful twelve subscribers. Oh. Eleven."


	25. Peaceful noise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We continue our little story with a familiar audio log as someone tries to even the playing field.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Undeterred by her loss of a subscriber, the girl turns her attention back to her drawing board. Quite a challenge to balance to juggle both drawing and talking, she does her best to keep both entertaining. Even if it's clear that the latter. Experience comes with time though. And there should be plenty of time 

"As you all know, the Eden-5 Youth Science Fair is only weeks away and Marcy Holloway already got her dad's indentured laborer's working on a miniature therma-sonic energy reactor. Because evidently, all the money in the galaxy can't buy you originality. Stupid rich blossom jerk bags."

Almost as if to mock her, the lead on the girl's pencil breaks. Letting out a deep breath, she grabs a new one and gets back to work.

"Marcy never had to work a day in her life to get where she is." the girl continues, waiting a moment. Now was time for her catchphrase. Looking back, it was both absolutely juvenile and immature, but it was the only real thing that described how she felt these days. "Anarchy Forever! Smash the system!"

"Hey Johnny, keep it down. You're brother is trying to sleep." her father shouts. The girl hadn't even realized how loud she had been in the first place. Considering all the setup put in her recording setup and how this was a podcast of sorts.

"Sure dad." the girl remarks, voice far lower than it had been previously. "Anyway, I've come up with a science project that'll make Marcy's thermal reactor look like an interocitor."

A chuckle followed, attempt being made at trying to keep it quiet. This idea was personal to her, the sort that could truly make the difference. In between her pompous attitude and her need to claim other's work, it was time to even this playing field. One way or another.

"I'm calling it the mechanized anti-bullying deterrent test or Project DT." she continues, looking towards the plans on the table. The prototype itself sits at her feet. While she could activate it, the audio definitely wouldn't do it justice. "It's only in the prototype stages right now but I have mathematically determined that it's going to be off the chain."

Another chuckle. 

"Basically, the idea is that if you deploy a DT unit in a school environment it's going to clamp down on bullying by finding bullies and beating the crap out of them!"

"Hey sweetheart, volume."

The girl looks over to her door. So much for volume control.

"Oh sorry dad, it won't happen again!"

"It's fine here, love you." her father announced, the girl shifting her focus back to her plans.

"It's totally going to happen again." the girl whispered. "Gaige out."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Maybe this is pushing this - but Holloway is perhaps a play on Haul-away. As in repossess. Guess the girl probably should've seen this coming?
> 
> Sorry. That thought came up last chapter and I wanted to put it here.


	26. This swirling storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Day, new problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay on this one. Had a four hour drive and I needed to focus on other projects.
> 
> That, and sometimes this fic can be a bit of a struggle to work up the energy to work on at times.

I don't own Borderlands.

* * *

A new day brings with it school for the girl. While she would prefer to be tinkering with her prototype, there was some place for a good education. Where exactly that was, depended on who you asked and where you lived. For the girl it meant the pursuit of new and exciting breakthroughs in the field of robotics. Or, just getting to mess around with said robots in the hopes of finding 

Yet here she was, carrying her bag and books towards her first class - Advanced Science. Of course, someone had other ideas for her at the moment. Judging by the tall blonde girl who's coming right for her at the moment, it's going to be one of those days. What she would do to have something that wasn't a constant stream of bullying and assaults. So what if your parents were able to buy out the school? What makes you think that you 

"All your money now, Gaige." the girl announced, 'Gaige' not even looking towards her. Instead she pushes forward, getting pushed to the floor by the girl. A kick to the stomach followed, her aggressor's foot held down upon her.

"No, Marcy." Gaige muttered and tried her best to break free from this grip on her. "Especially after what happened to my arm, you dumb fuck."

Marcy began to laugh. Her foot shifted slightly, providing enough of an opportunity for the anarchist to wiggle out and book it towards the nearest classroom. Inside, it looks to be the counseling office. Because of course she did. Anywhere else would've been better. But of course she had to end up in this place.

"Is something wrong, Miss Gaige?" the counselor announced, Gaige already making her way towards the door. "Let me guess. Grace?"

Gaige rolled her eyes.

"What do you think?" she muttered, taking a seat for the moment. If she had known what was happening outside right now, she probably would've gone and stopped the crime being committed. But it's like they say. Hindsight is 20/20. "That's why I'm going to get rid of all bullies. Bullies like Marcy Holloway."

The counselor wrote it down, turning back to Gaige.

"Have you thought about loo-"

Before she had a chance to finish that, what appeared to be a laser pierced right through the wall. Oh dear. That can't be good.


	27. Breaking and Entering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh... long time, no see? I'm very much aware it's been a couple months. I needed some breathing room and was kind of burnt out on this fic.
> 
> While future updates are probably going to be intermittent, I would like to at least finish this arc out. Afterwards, then do the DLC's.

I don't own Borderlands.

* * *

When it came to locks, there was rarely ever any that could hold Marcy Holloway out of what she wanted. Whether it be through the sheer wealth that the Holloway's possessed or the many businesses and companies under their control, little stood in their way.

So while Gaige aired her grievances to the counselor, she struck. While school lockers were usually a cake walk, the bully had expected to at least be presented with something more of a challenge. Maybe some sort of special lock that would somehow prevent her from getting through. Or perhaps some kind of retinal scanner. Marcy enjoyed using those. Usually, the solution was to just smash the person's face in. That was always fun. Especially after the door opened up. Then she could just continue smashing their face in. Sure, most people didn't make it through that, but that didn't matter to her. They most definitely deserved it.

"Come to Marcy." she whispered, taking in the contents of her victim's locker. At first glance, everything looked normal. Sure, there was much in the way of personalization beyond just some notes of what class Gaige was taking on what days and the unneeded books for that particular day. But on closer inspection, a small slit in between two books was reflecting out... something. Throwing those back, she came upon her objective. "Perfect."

Snatching the objects in question, Marcy wasn't done. Oh no. That would be too easy. It would mean that by some chance, Gaige had a chance of bouncing back from this mess and maybe, just maybe get the upper hand on her. She couldn't have that. That would imply she was a failure as well.

So Marcy did the natural thing in this situation - Set everything Gaige had in there on fire. Because you know, there's no good retaliation like a nuclear retaliation. Even if such a situation would dare to be called such a thing.

"Serves her right." Marcy thought, smile forming on her face as she headed for the nearest exit. Education in her book was not really that valuable of a skill. As long as you had money, lots of charisma and knew all the right people, you could get just about anywhere in life. Screw hard work as well. It never did her any favors. Even if it somehow did, there was always an easier way of going about doing the task at ha-

Before she could that much further, her 'prize' began heating up. Normally, this wouldn't be too much cause for concern in the bully's case. All sorts of things had a tendency to heat up when you 

_'Activating Laser'_

Dropping her prize but clinging to the blueprints (somehow), Marcy booked it right on out of there. For a few brief seconds, she could just make out her nemesis. If she could just curse that bitch to oblivion, she would.

But that day was not today. No, Marcy had a far better idea. One that would require a few phone calls...


	28. Like a million bucks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I really don't like this skin. Especially considering how late in the DLC you're probably going to get it.
> 
> Non-canon, with some implied sex.

I don't own Borderlands.

Even as she picked the option out from the quick-change station, Moze wasn't quite sure how to feel. In between having to hike all the way down to Impound Deluxe (again) and getting the token off a loader of all things, her expectations were set really low. And that was after attempting to find a quick-change station in the entire freaking casino. You would think a place as big as its central hub would have what she was looking for. But no, that was asking just a bit too much in her regards. So here they were back in Sanctuary.

"Mozey, can I come on out?" Iron Bear announced, head poking out from the station. While she looked completely dressed, the mecha girl didn't quite look too happy.

"Go on ahead." Moze announced and watched her girlfriend step right out. Before her, stood a golden blonde coated in gold body paint. While it didn't show everything, it was right on the cusp of leaving Iron Bear out in the nude. "Uh… on second thoug-"

The gunner didn't get to finish her sentence, since Iron Bear had decided she was going to grab hold and pull her right back over to the station. A mix of paint meeting skin and clothes getting pulled echoed out for the next couple minutes, a couple screams mixed in as well.

Eventually, both woman and mecha exited out - covered in gold and sexual fluids. As moments go, this wasn't the worst in the world. But there was were far better ways to spend an evening.


	29. Final Preperations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting close to the end of our little backstory/mini-arc.

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Back at her home, Gaige turned to her creation. Having gotten so far on this bot, to have such a major blow done to her was absolutely crushing. The temptation to wallow in her own sorrows was very much there, but now wasn’t the time to do that.

"What am I going to do with you?" she muttered, the events of a past couple hours flooding right back in. This was almost normal for her to do. As rare as it was for her to actually finish a school day, she was more than ahead when it came to the actual school work. Shame that this didn't apply to stuff like art. What sort of teacher required you to show up in the actual class when all the assignments involved digital programs of some kind? That's absolutely absurd in all the worst possible ways. But that was the least of the anarchist's problems right now. No, she needed to plan ahead for the worse. "It's over for us, ain't it?"

Their creation didn't answer. While sure, the addition of a voice box would do a lot in selling the power of her anti-bullying tool. But finding the right one would be difficult. For as confident as she thought her skills when it came to AI was, they were still quite limited. Nothing on par with something like Hyperion. If something like her creation fell into their hands, who knows what they would do with it. Nothing good was the answer.

So Gaige let her focus turn to her bag. The bare minimum was at least her Echo, a change of clothes and some kind of weapon. Though, the last one was something she could figure on the fly. There were bound to be tons of guns out in the galaxy. Just need a way to get her hands on one.

But right now, she had an echo cast to record. 


	30. End of the line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gaige's story comes to a head and we return back to the fire at hand. Finally.

I don't own borderlands.

This was it. For all intensive purposes, Gaige knew she had lost this contest. Marcy had not only her plans, but had probably already sold them to whoever was willing to pay. But she wasn't going to let that slot have the last laugh. Not even a chuckle. No, Gaige would hold her head high and see this all the way through. And hopefully not die. That too, but who can really say with Marcy Holloway.

As for the convention hall itself, there was a little bit of everything. Shields, non-lethal weaponry and of course, robots. Okay, it was two robots - her’s and Marcy’s. Though, that wasn’t counting the fact that Marcy’s robot had an ‘accident’ and wasn’t even able to show it’s capabilities.

“My, what do we have here?” Marcy announced, taking in her battered opponent. It was over. There was no way that Gaige could actually do anything to beat her. Even after her submission blew itself up in front of the judges. Victory was hers. Once the award ceremony was done, she would have her way with Gaige. For good.

Gaige rolled her eyes and cracked her knuckles for good measure. Sure, Deathtrap was nearby. There was no way that Marcy was actually dumb enough to fight her now. Right?

“Oh, don’t feel bad you third-place loser.” Marcy continued and grabbed hold of her victim. “You did a good job… at giving me everything I needed for my father’s company.”

Slamming Gaige to the ground, a grunt echoed about the convention hall. Deathtrap charged forward and let their focus be on Marcy. It’s over in a matter of seconds. Not long enough for Gaige to really take in her changed world.

Running out of the hall, Gaige took the time to make one more call. Then, it’s a quick gaze to the door. Slowly, her partner makes their exit.

“Gaige…” they announce, their words falling deaf on the Mechomancer’s ears. No, there were more opportunities for this strange ‘glitch’ to peak on through.


	31. Eldritch Mermaids, anyone?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The skins for DLC 2 have been revealed. I'm not quite sure if I like it. But I also said that Clothed Circuit was awful at one time (once we're back on Sanctuary, it'll be the next skin showcased as part of the main story).

I don't own borderlands.

* * *

Moze took a deep breath.

In between all the tentacles, eldritch abominations and other strange and confusing happenings, she was glad to be done with that wedding. Still far better than the one the pair had been treated too in Electra City. Though that could just be the result of Electra City in general.

But this reward didn't quite seem to cut it. Sure, just killing a guy was all well and good. But it's another when you have to kill five or six people just to get the reward that pertained to her.

"Yuck." she muttered, a grog passing on by. Because of course there was one passing through at the moment. She had been meaning to ask who's that was, but then got sidelined for something else entirely. Like waiting for Iron Bear to come out.

"Mozey?"

The Gunner's gaze shot back over to the Quick-Change station. Of course her girlfriend was having trouble. This better not be like the last time with all that stupid body paint. That had taken at least a week to get off and she was still finding specks of it in her room. This better not be a case of that.

So Moze made her way over to the booth. Peeking her head inside, the gunner did a double take.

As transformations went, this was above and beyond she was expecting. Even if that change involved taking Iron Bear's legs away and putting a mermaid tail in place of it. Of course, there was no real body of water to actually swim around in.

"You alright at least?" Moze inquired and got a head shake in return. Now, how the heck was she going to explain this?


	32. Reunited and it feels so good

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After so long, Moze and Iron Bear reunite. About dang time.

I don't own Borderlands.

* * *

Moze took a deep breath.

On one hand, her head felt as if was spinning in between the fire, these strange robots and Gaige's story. But by that same token, her thoughts turned to Iron Bear. Sure, the trio was making quick work of these 'Marcy' robots. But it would be amazing to have the humanized mecha back by her side once more. Maybe then they would have some sort of norma- Who was she kidding, there was not a chance any of this was going to get close to normal soon.

"So what happens after that?" the gunner inquired, her 'kidnapper' letting out a sigh. While not the answer she was hoping for, there had to be something better to connect this back up to this mess, right? "Really, that's what you're end-

Gaige's hand slammed into Moze's face. While her 'ally' wasn't knocked back per say, this was less than ideal. Especially if the mechromancer was going to finally take down Mr Holloway.

"That stuff can come later." Gaige barked and motioned for Deathtrap to charge forward. Great and all, if not for the fact that part of the building was looking to come down. Right on top of them no less. Because of course it was.

"Mozey!"

A fist slammed through the barricade, the obstacle shattering into a million pieces. Then, Iron Bear. While there was some soot on the various parts of her outfit, she didn't look any worse for the wear. Especially now that her girlfriend was in sight.

"Iron Bear!" Moze screamed, ducking out of the way of the aegis. Not that this was really stopping her from running full blast towards her girlfriend. All while Athena made sure to provide cover fire at the moment.

"There you are! I've been looking for you!" Iron Bear shouted back and put Moze on her back. After, her attention focused on Gaige and Deathtrap. The temptation was there to just charge towards this foul witch and strike her down. But right now, that wouldn't do them any good. "You're alright, Mozey?"

Moze nodded.

"Yeah." the gunner answered and took a deep breath, pistol coming back out. "Let's get through this."

Iron Bear didn't answer, choosing instead to continue firing off grenades. Sooner or later, their opponent would concede. Maybe then they could confront the culprit of this mess. After, take a break of sorts. That sounded nice.


End file.
